Docs to study benefits of adding genome info to patient EMRs

Suggested Content

CAMDEN, NJ – Physicians at Ohio State University Medical Center (OSU) are incorporating genetic risk information into their patients' electronic medical records, as part of a study by Coriell Institute for Medical Research.

The goal of the study, called the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative (CPMC), is to understand the utility of genome information in patient care and develop best practices for the field.

"By providing personal genetic risk data directly to both physicians and their patients, we have a unique opportunity to examine how personalized medicine can be used in the clinic," said Michael Christman, PhD, president and CEO of Coriell. "This is an important step toward effectively integrating genome information into routine medical care."

The Coriell/OSU Medical Center partnership brings together two leaders in the emerging field of personalized medicine: Coriell, a non-profit research institute engaged in the study of human genetic diseases and translation into genome-informed clinical care, and OSU Medical Center, an institute dedicated to saving lives and improving the quality of life by translating scientific discoveries in the lab to a patient's bedside.

The collaboration involves 30 to 35 Ohio State cardiologists and primary care physicians and 1,800 of their patients who have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure or hypertension. The patients' genomic information will be entered into their electronic medical records and observations will be made as to how their physicians use the personalized genetic risk information to make clinical care decisions. The study will reveal whether genome-informed medicine has utility in practice, and how likely doctors are to use the information when it is made available to them.

"We are providing physicians with the technology and educational tools to deliver care that is customized to the needs of each individual," said Christman.

Congestive heart failure will affect 5.7 million Americans and lead to 300,000 deaths this year. Hypertension affects nearly one-quarter of adults in the nation. As chronic heart disease patients are often treated with multiple medications, personalized medicine can help physicians make the best prescribing decisions and also identify disease risks, resulting in safer and more accurate care for patients.

Researchers will also study the impact of genetic counseling on patient behaviors. While the CPMC offers genetic counseling to all participants free of charge (via phone and email), the Coriell/OSU Medical Center collaboration requires some participants to attend an in-person genetic counseling session. Participants will be asked to complete a series of surveys regarding the understanding of their risk, knowledge of genetics, what they did after learning of their personalized risk information, and with whom they shared their results. Differences between the two groups will provide insight into the role genetic counselors play as educators in personalized medicine.

The executive director of Ohio State's Center for Personalized Health Care, and a co-investigator on the Coriell/OSU Medical Center partnership, Clay Marsh, MD, recognizes the need to engage patients to become more actively involved in their own healthcare management and sees the Coriell collaboration as that opportunity.

"Overall, we want to improve people's lives through healthcare that is predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory," said Marsh.